Columbus – Auditor of State Dave Yost today released Liberty Local School District (Trumbull County) from fiscal emergency; a status it has held since 2011.

“Liberty Local Schools made difficult, yet necessary, decisions to eliminate its financial burdens,” Auditor Yost said. “Putting the students first is always the right decision.”

Liberty Local School District was first placed in fiscal watch on May 26, 2011, at the request of the Ohio Department of Education. Prior to the declaration, the district failed to develop an acceptable financial recovery plan to eliminate anticipated deficits and future financial difficulties. The district Board of Education then passed a resolution on June 14, 2011, stating its inability to develop a financial recovery plan. On July 11, 2011, the district was placed in fiscal emergency. 

To eliminate its fiscal emergency status, the district:

• Eliminated 36 positions, saving $1.8 million annually;
• Joined an insurance consortium and required employee contributions, saving $1.2 million annually;
• Reduced salaries of four positions, saving $136,000 annually;
• Entered into a shared service agreement for its Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer, saving $74,000 annually; and
• Eliminated various supplemental programs, saving $60,000 annually.

To be released from fiscal emergency, Liberty Local School District met the following criteria:

• Adopted and implemented an effective financial accounting and reporting system;
• Corrected or eliminated all of the fiscal emergency conditions and no new conditions have occurred;
• Met the major objectives of the financial recovery plan; and
• Prepared a five-year forecast in accordance with standards issued by the Auditor of State, and the opinion expressed by the Auditor of State is “nonadverse.”

A full copy of this fiscal emergency termination may be accessed online.

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The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,800 state and local government agencies.  Under the direction of Auditor Dave Yost, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies and promotes transparency in government.

Contact:
Carrie Bartunek
Press Secretary
614-644-1111